Week of March 12, 2026
Week of March 12, 2026
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School funding has long been a balancing act, but now Petersburg stakeholders have been invited to weigh in on the Petersburg City School District budget by using the Balancing Act budget simulation tool. At the annual joint work session between the borough assembly and the school district, Shannon Baird, Director of Finance for PCSD, gave a walkthrough of the school budget situation for fiscal year 2027 and how the public can learn more about it and provide their suggestions through the balancing act tool. Balancing Act is an interactive...
The head of the Alaska Division of Elections will not share legal advice that led to the state’s decision to send an extended voter list to the U.S. Department of Justice. Director Carol Beecher told state senators last Wednesday that she will not waive attorney-client privilege as state lawmakers examine last year’s decision to give the Trump administration a detailed list of Alaska voters. Alaska is one of 12 states that have either turned over their voter lists or have said they plan to comply with a nationwide request, according to... Full story
Petersburg’s fire and emergency services department is heading into this spring’s borough budget planning cycle with several additional funding needs: a replacement of breathing equipment used by every firefighter entering a burning building, a forced relocation of the department’s training tower, and a push to update emergency plans that have gone largely untouched for more than a decade. Fire and EMS Director Aaron Hankins laid out the challenges at last month’s Public Safety Advisory Board meeting, where he was joined by a...
Petersburg Medical Center will hold its 2026 health fair, “Thriving at Every Age & Stage,” on Saturday, March 14, at the Community Gym. Resource booths will be open from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., with presentations and fitness class demonstrations running throughout the day beginning at 9:30 a.m. PMC nurse practitioner Angela Menish has a presentation titled “Understanding Your Health Fair Blood Draw Results,” scheduled for 11:30 a.m. in the Parks and Rec Activity Room. The talk is designed to help community members interpret results from...
“It’s got a boat, it’s got crazy characters, it’s the perfect play for Mayfest,” said Tiffany Glass, director of the Mitkof Mummers. The play is centered around a singles’ cruise on an old schooner, the SS Flounder, which may or may not be on her last voyage. The captain is trying to make sure it’s all smooth sailing, but the owners have disguised themselves among the guests to decide the Flounder’s fate. Then there are the stowaways, a couple of hoods hiding from their nefarious boss, who of course has followed them aboard,...
Wrangell’s borough assembly on Feb. 24 unanimously approved a three-year lease with JAG Marine Group, giving the company time to decide if it will proceed with development of a shipyard at the 6-Mile Mill property. The shipyard would be the foundational component of a larger redevelopment plan for the former mill property, which also includes a new barge ramp and freight yard and a privately operated small data center. Wrangell Borough Manager Mason Villarma told the assembly that the short-term lease is a strategic necessity to ensure the...
Last year’s inaugural event went so well that organizers have booked a return flight for the Milk Run Music Festival to land in Wrangell on May 1-2. “Most of the plans are locked in,” said lead organizer Olivia Strano, which is not to say the festival is on auto pilot. Volunteers started planning this year’s event last August, she said, running raffles, soliciting donations and lining up music and vendors and games to make this year’s festival better than the first time. The two days will include visiting and Wrangell musicians...
Blake Taruscio and Rena Brisentine snowshoed up Crystal Mountain and skied back down through fresh powder on Monday, March 9. Winter sports of that sort are not often possible this time of year around Petersburg, but the past two weeks have seen unusually significant snow fall on Southeast Alaska. On February 28, Petersburg received 15.5 inches of snow fall, an all-time record and more than twenty-five times the average amount of snow that Petersburg has historically received on that day of...
1926 – There are no issues in the archive until May 19, 1926. Thank you for your patience. March 9, 1951 – The weekend cold snap was indirectly responsible for a run made by the volunteer fire department at 3 p.m. Sunday. Pipes were frozen in the kitchen of the Ray Hood home out at the Point, and as Mrs. Hood was preparing dinner the oil stove exploded, showering the kitchen with soot and debris. Windows were broken in the kitchen and bedroom. The damage was so heavy that the family moved to the Arctic Hotel. No one was injured. There was...
The Petersburg Vikings headed into the tournament as the #1 seed with their first match against the #4 seeded Wrangell Wolves. The Vikings continued their dominance over the Wolves, winning 48-12. "Once we started getting out in transition because we were defending well and rebounding, we got some easy looks at the basket ," head coach Rick Brock said. "We kinda rolled from there." The Vikings advanced to the next round where they faced the #2 seeded Haines Glacier Bears. It was a slow start...
In their first match of the Region V tournament, the #4 seeded Petersburg Lady Vikings faced of against the #5 seeded Haines Glacier Lady Bears.The Lady Vikings scored their most points of the season (43) against the Lady Bears man-to-man defense. "We're pretty good against man-to-man defense and I think that's why teams have not played man-to-man against us much at all this season," head coach Matt Pawuk said. "I almost felt like the kids were chopping at the bit to attack a man-to-man defense...
All season long the Petersburg High School Cheer team was on a mission to claim their third regional title. With regionals this past weekend, they had their opportunity but It wasn't going to be easy. Their adjudication match was in the morning and while they got full support from the Pep band, they didn't have full crowd support compared to some of the other cheer squads there at later tip off times. This cheer squad also had little regional experience as 13 out of 16 members made their first...
A December 2025 press release from the office of Lieutenant Governor Nancy Dahlstrom stated that the Alaska Voter Registration List with confidential information was given to the U.S. Department of Justice in response to the DOJ’s request. For what purpose was this done? How was this even necessary when certain voter record information is already public, and since states are in charge of elections? States are required by law to maintain accurate and current voter registration lists. According to my limited research of the National Voter...
In 2019, after being selected as Alaska’s 2018 State Teacher of the Year, I worked with other award-winning educators to pen an op-ed: “Why teach in Alaska?” At the time, we eagerly co-signed as we believed in dedicating a career to Alaska students and that our legislators and community wanted a thriving public education system. My answer now is a heavy “I can’t.” My wife, Catherine Walker — the 2024 Alaska Teacher of the Year and one of four National Teacher of the Year finalists — and I are leaving. When two people...
March 3 – An activated alarm was reported. An officer responded to a parking complaint on S 3rd St. A lost dog was reported at the graveyard. March 4 – There was a report of suspicious behavior on Haugen Drive. A lost dog was reported at 8th and Excel St. An officer responded to a disturbance on Chief John Lott Street. There was a report of lost keys. An officer conducted extra patrols. An officer assisted a citizen with a safety concern. March 5 – An officer conducted a welfare check. March 6 – A wallet was turned in to the Police...
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